Brake controller warning !! - Where to mount it?

[rumy Member Find all posts View Profile Close rumy]

Alot of people are placing the brake controllers to the left and above the knee air bag. I went to an auto electrical shop today and they said they would not fit my prodigy brake controller to my 150 Kakadu in this position as the air bag deploys out and UP. If a brake controller was mounted here and it appears to be out of the way as seen in photos on this forum, if the airbag deploys and it affects the airbag function then the auto electrical shop could be in serious trouble by law if you suffer any injuries caused by the brake controller or incorrect deployment of the airbag.
I would say in a court of law you would have to be good to convince a judge that the brake controller didn't interfer with it's deployment even if it didn't. The close proximity of the two would be enough.
They didn't try to sell me anything else until I enquired what to do, they recommended the Redarc brake controller which I then bought and had fitted, I could see where they were coming from that is for sure.

What are your thoughts people ???

[trackers Member Find all posts View Profile Close trackers]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

Had our controller fitted by our Toyota dealer. It is mounted where you said, so I would like to see Toyota knock back any sort of claim!!

[dereki Member Find all posts View Profile Close dereki]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

I believe this is the case...

The thing is that just cos its a Toyota dealer, doesn't mean its been approved by Toyota the car maker. The dealer could be wrong, since they are all just franchises bought from a separate Toyota dealer network company they do not represent the position of the manufacturer. However the dealers *should* know better since they have been trained and have access to information from the car manufacturer. This funky relationship is why the quality of the dealers is so vast and also why you can have an easy time with one dealer wrt warranty claims and a nightmare with another.

So I guess what I am saying is, if there is a legal problem, your probably facing suing the individual dealer that did the install... not Toyota unless the dealer can prove that they got advice from Toyota Car co.

What does the manual say. IMHO, It comes from the car manufacturer and overrides what the dealer might think, unless there is something is writing from Toyota Car co.

D

[Walker Member Find all posts View Profile Close Walker]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

I had my brake controller installed by the dealer and they would not put it on the left side either. They put it above the right knee which is fine and well out of the way.

[karrathaprado2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close karrathaprado2]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

Not all well informed enough

[Simba2212 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Simba2212]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

I booked mine into an auto electrics (Haymen Reece) and he almost cried when he saw how much moved when ever I started the Prado. i.e. the steering wheel moving in and out when I start/stop, the auto seats etc.

He was not only worried about the air bag but also the electronic... everything!

After some research I found an australian made product. Company's name is Redarc.

They have a remotely controlled break controller. The auto electrician fitted the unit behind the drivers plastic kick panel and ran the wires up to the remote switch in one of the blank plates on the right near the headlight washers switch.

End result is a very tidy break controller unit, with no modules crudely screwed to the dash. Instead 1 red dial and one LED in with all the other switches. Makes me wonder why Toyota don't just make them into vehicles like the prado, where most people are going to tow??

Web sit for Redarc - http://redarc.com.au/products-and-servi ... controller

I will post some images of the finished product over the weekend!

[rumy Member Find all posts View Profile Close rumy]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

That's the brake controller I got too, nice and neat and mostly all hidden. No problems about the knee airbag now !

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

Keep in mind the Redarc is not proportional and the P3 is.

[Silvo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Silvo]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

could always disable the knee airbag..

i haven't had one for so long, and honestly when i bought the car i had no idea it was there anyway..

[yowie Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close yowie]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

A bit of advice please, as I am new to towing a van (still being built). Does the brake controller assist with van braking on a full time or part time basis, also is it similar to a dead man's brake? Is a brake controller necessary? Unloaded the van will be around 1900 kg.

I replied to another forum, and mentioned an Anderson plug for the van's battery. No reply to that yet. Can I fit it myself, can it be wired direct to a battery (normal or deep cycle) with an in-line fuse?

Thankyou,
Yowie.

[Walker Member Find all posts View Profile Close Walker]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

With a 1900kg van you will definately need a brake controller. You will have to check, but your van will probably come with electric brakes which is controlled by the brake controller. Whenever you brake, the controller will automatically brake the van proportional to the amount of pressure you brake the vehicle.
Since the van is under 2000kg it is legal to use hydraulic brakes which do not need a brake controller but you will have to check what type of brakes the manufacturer is installing.

Anderson plug to charge the batteries in the van is easily a DIY job. I always like to run the power for the anderson plug from a 2nd battery I install in the vehicle which is controlled by a dual battery controller. This way you will never flatten your starting battery, but this is just my preferance and you can just run the power from the starting battery if you only have 1 battery. Always use a fuse or circuit breaker when running the cable.

hope that helps.

[rumy Member Find all posts View Profile Close rumy]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

Think of it like a semi trailer - if the truck is unhitched from the tri axle trailer, it is like your car and uses it's own brakes. When you hook up a trailer you also need brakes for the trailer which when hooked up together you need brakes on the truck and trailer. All brakes come on when you apply pressure to the brake pedal. Imagine if the trailer didn't have brakes and only the truck, like towing a caravan of 1900kg's this would be very dangerous.

If you are near a capital city have a look at a caravan towing course as it seems you are very new to this towing idea and limited knowledge to be safe on our roads. (not meant to be downgrading, just trying to help)

[yowie Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close yowie]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

I've towed boats and box trailers many times, but never had anything with it's own braking system. I've asked the caravan manufacturer, Goldstream, to upgrade the brakes from a 10 inch to a 12 inch version, electric brakes. I just did not understand much about the brake controller as it has not yet been explained to me by the manufacturer.

I've wired electronic items before, but I always wire directly off a battery, with an in-line fuse. Easier than wiring off the vehicle's wiring system, and usually less electrical interference. I will have a deep cycle battery added at some stage. Are any systems better than others?

[rumy Member Find all posts View Profile Close rumy]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

Have a look at the Tekonsha P3 prodigy electric trailer brake controller, it can be had from Ebay for approx $170 delivered. You can wire it straight to your main battery.

The wiring is simple to do -

1. from brake controller you wire the pos & neg wires straight to your main battery with inline fuse on pos wire.
2. The blue wire from your brake controller is wired down to your rear trailer plug into number 5 pin
3. Other wire left is wired to your brake pedal wires. Check the wiring behind you brake pedal using a test light to see which one is active once the brake pedal is applied and wire it to this wire.
4. Attach trailer and adjust brake controller as directed in the instruction booklet.

Job done!!!

[Richoson Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Richoson]

Re: Brake controller warning !!

Hi Folks

I managed a trailer manufacturing plant for 4 years and we did everything from box trailers,caravan chassis's ( for one of the most respected off road caravan manufacturers), boat trailers, excavator floats, and custom trailers.

We installed electric, overide, hydraulic and air brakes, but we never installed brake controllers. We left this to the professionals as when you have to meet DOTARS, state and insurance company requirements, if an accident happens they go looking for somebody to blame. Also what happens if you have an accident, your fault or not ,and the cause of somebody's injury was a faulty installation, not me?

There are two types of electric trailer controllers, speed and pressure sensative and manually set, the best are the autos as the trailer should never stop the car or vice versa, it should be not noticed in braking.

Regards, Richo.